Street-railway rail



(No Model.)

T. L. BEAMAN.

STREET RAILWAY RAIL.

Patented. Jan. 13, 1885.

WITNESSES I 1 I, I

UNITED dramas A'rENT @rricao TIMOTHY BEAMAN, OF KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE.

STREET-RAILWAY RAIL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,640, dated January 13, 1885.

Application filed June 26, i884. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, TIMOTHY L. BEAHAN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Knoxville, in the county of Knox and State of Tennessee,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Railway Rails; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the ac companying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in street-railroad rails, the object of my invention being to provide a rail of improved contour which will combine the principal features of the T-rail usually employed on steamrailroads, and to combine therewith certain novel features which will provide a rail specially adapted for street-railroads.

I am aware that prior to my invention T- rails for street railroads have been provided in which the head or tread is located to one side of the web, said rail being provided with side flanges which are upon different planes; therefore I make no special claim upon such construction, a rail embodying these features being shown in the patent of T. L. Johnson, No. 272,554, dated February 20, 1883, which I disclaim, and confine myself to the form hereinafter particularly described and claimed as new.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a rail constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the same, and Fig. 3 is a section showing the same applied to a street-railway bed.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the foot of the rail, which is provided centrally with a web, 13, upon which is formed the head and side flanges, (land D D. .The headjais formed i m-mediate lypyem the web, angl xtefidfmfi ah yffrofliieach side. of.. the center therjgoff'The edges of the head 0 are maven; as shown at E and E, and the curve .E at the inner side of the head is of the ogee order, and terminates in a horizontal portion,

E, which forms the upper face of the flange D. The lower portion of this flange D is connected by a nearly straight line which is inclined downwardly to the web. The outer flange,D,is curved slightly inwardly upon its under surface, as shown at F, and extends from the center of the web outwardly the same distance asthe flange D, the terminal portion of said flange being on the same horizontal line as the upper surface of the flange D.

By the construction herein shown and described the head of the rail is of sufflcient width to receive the tread of the car-wheel, and its flange will run freely below said head. The ogee curve on the inner side of the rail forms an easy angle or curvature, so that vehicles may pass over the same. This curve also enables the flange of the car-wheel to readily remove any accumulations of ballast or earth that may collect upon the flange. The flange F, projecting as it does to one side, will keep the flange of the car-wheel from cutting into the street. The flange D, which projects from the outer side of the head downwardly, makes the head have substantially only one side, and no sharp or abrupt corners are formed, and vehicles are enabled to cross the rail at any angle. The under side of the flange D unites with the web at a point somewhat higher than its opposite flange, thus providing for the most economical distribution of metal.

Center bearing rails as heretofore constructed have usually sharp or abrupt corners, (which are obviated in my invention,) against which the wheels of vehicles come in contact with and slide along, making ruts adjacentto the rail. By providing the head of the rail immediately above the web the pressure is distributed equally upon the foot, and no side pressure is exerted upon the spikes which hold the foot to the cross-ties.

The manner of laying the rail and the position of the head and flanges with respect to the surface of the street is fully shown in Fi 3, and when the tracks are thus laid the wheels of vehicles in passing along either edge of the flanges will have a tendency to pack the ballast under the flanges, in the pockets formed above the foot and to each side of the web, and retain the rail in position, it being evident that as soon as these pockets are packed IOO with ballast the rail cannot be out of place,

T rail, the head 0, having a flange, D, with 15 curved portion F,f0r1ned on one side, and on the opposite side-a flange, B, with horizontal portion F, the portion between the head and horizontal portion F being an ogee curve, substantially as shown, and for the purpose set 20 forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

TIMOTHY L. BEAMAN.

Witnesses:

H. O. S UIRE, F. L. FISHER. 

